How Do You Roll?'s Second Location

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How Do You Roll? opened its second location at the Palmer House Hilton, 118 S. Wabash. Features handmade sushi rolls, sushi burritos and stuffed avocados (pictured).

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Harry's Velvet Room's "Secret" Service

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Secret menu items (artichoke fritters, Iggy's wings and lemon butter chicken pasta) at Harry's Velvet Room, 1480 W. Webster, are available after 9 p.m. and by request only Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Also check out the Sunday Jazz brunch available 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring live music.

Billy Dec on NBC Today

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Restaurateur and entertainment developer Billy Dec of Rockit Ranch Productions shared Sunda's chop chop chicken salad recipe on NBC's "Today Show" this morning. The salad will be available today and tomorrow (July 10) at Sunda, 110 W. Illinois. If you can't make it to the restaurant click here for the recipe along with Sunda's white wine summer cocktail recipe.


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Graham Elliot's Lobster Dogs

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Celebrity chef and three-time James Beard Award-nominee Graham Elliot serves up his fancy lobster corn dog for the opening of Taste of Chicago today (July 8) only.


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Izakaya Sake Dinner

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Izakaya Mita, 1906 N. Damen, hosts a summer sake dinner July 22. Owner Helen Mita's seven-course dinner will be paired with a hand-selected sake list, most created from women breweries.

Monica Samuels, national sales manager of Vine Connection, assisted with the selections. Two seatings are available, 6 and 8 p.m. Tickets ($65) are available at 773.799.8677. 


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French Pastry School Recipe

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Download The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago's, 226 W. Jackson, complimentary tomato chutney recipe.


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Windy City Smokeout

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Barbecue, beer and bands. It doesn't get any better in Chicago during the summer with food festivals held just about every weekend.

If you haven't been to Windy City Smokeout it's time to check it out. WCS is July 10-12 at 560 W. Grand.

Barbecue roundup includes: Celebrity chef and champion competitor Pitmaster Myron Nixon along with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; Pappy's Smokehouse; the Salt Lick; Hogapalooza; Ubons; Smoque; Chicago q; Lillie's Q and Bub City.

Music talent include: Cheyenne Rose; Drew Baldridge; Shawn Lacy; the Railers; Peachy Pyron; Sundy Best; Jukebox Mafia and Courtney Cole.

Check out the video from last year's event.


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New Chef/New Concepts @The Butcher's Tap

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The Butcher's Tap, 3553 N. Southport, is offering a new brunch configuration: "brunch boards & buckets," available Saturday and Sunday only.

New chef Sean Currie, in the process of revamping the menu, started with brunch creating meat, cheese and fruit offerings served on wooden pig-shaped boards.

The buckets in the brunch concept are buckets of Champagne, beer or bloody Marys. Because in chef' Currie's words "What's brunch without booze?"

Chef Currie plans to initiate a monthly burger program as well as sandwich and salad updates.

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Roscoe Village Burger Fest 2015

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The best place in town to get a burger July 11-12 is at the Roscoe Village Burger Fest. Vendors Butcher & Burger; Cortland's Garage; McGee's Tavern & Grille; Rockit Burger Bar. View all participants and music lineup here.

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First Fridays @Organic Roof Top Farm

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Farmer Allison of Organic Roof Top Farm, with her urban agriculture interns, host an open house for First Fridays at the Farm from 5 p.m. to sundown today (July 3) at uncommon ground's, 1401 W. Devon, certified organic rooftop farm. Admission is free. The farm returns the first Friday in August.

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Benny's Chop House's "Dead" Menu

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Dead fans there are no limits to specials in Chicago July 3-5 saluting the band's farewell gig at Soldier Field.

Benny's Chop House, 444 N. Wabash, pays tribute with the "Fare Thee Well" drink and food menu featuring the Ramble on Rose (Benny's Chop House original vodka, Pallini Peachcello, fresh lime, mint sprig, rose water, $12); Good Old Rebel (house-infused jalapeno Chinaco Blanco tequila, pomegranate, Luxardo Maraschino, verjus, fresh lime, red grapes, $13): Paradise Waits (pisco porton, Belle de Brillet pear cognac, citrus espuma, angostura bitters, $14) cocktails.

Food specials are : Franklin's Shellfish Tower (Cape Breton lobster, Alaskan king crab, jumbo prawns, $38); Dover Soul-Shine (Dover sole, lemon-caper Beurre Blanc, $50); Rib Eyes of the World (16-oz USDA prime natural, $48; 16-oz USDA prime dry aged bone-in, $59 and 20-oz USDA prime dry aged bone-in, $73 ) and Crazy Fingers Tart (cherry tart, hempseed tuile, homegrown herbs, $11).


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Palmer House's Day of the "Dead"

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Lockwood Restaurant & Bar and Potter's, both located in the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe, hosts a weekend filled with Grateful Dead food and drink specials in honor of the iconic rock group 's farewell concerts July 3-5 at Soldier Field, 1410 S. Museum Campus.

Food specials include the psychedelic pizza (shrooms, lentil, smoked dates, fine herbs, and whipped ricotta, $16); Jerry roll (egg roll wrapped falafel, shaved cabbage and carrots, bean sprouts, cilantro, sweet n' orange sauce, $10) and the brownie (candied kale, smoked caramel, bourbon laced with walnuts, $10).

Drinks are the Dead Head (Sauza tequila, Smirnoff vodka, Beefeater gin, chambord, sour mix); Bertha's Bourbon Treat (Woodford Reserve bourbon, Tuaca liqueur, dulce de leches sauce, Half and Half) and the Sour Hippie (Blue Curaçao, chambord, Cruzan rum, sloe gin, sour mix). Cocktails are $10 each. (Stanley Mouse commemorative poster pictured)

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Rare Tomatin Whisky Tasting

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Special guest Scott Fraser guides visitors through an exclusive tasting of aged Tomatin Highland Single Malt Scotch whisky, created from bubbling pure spring water, during an event 7 p.m. July 9 at Fountainhead, 1970 W. Montrose.

The exclusive selections include: Tomatin 12 year; Tomatin 18 year; Tomatin 30 year and Tomatin Cu Bocan. Tickets are $20, includes a 20 percent discount toward a purchase in the Fountainhead Market.

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